The end could not come fast enough for the San Diego State men’s soccer team. Playing host to No. 15 UCLA (10-4-6, 7-1-2 in Pac-10 play), SDSU (6-9-3, 3-4-3) was embarrassed by a bigger and faster Bruins team. With a 6-1 loss, the Aztecs’ mediocre season came to an end on Saturday afternoon.
“We just weren’t organized in the back today,” head coach Lev Kirshner said. “All game long, it was a matter of finding one (goal), but it came way too late.”
That one goal was put in by senior defender Dennis Sanchez off a rebounded shot from sophomore midfielder Raymundo Reza with just 30 seconds remaining, sparing SDSU a shutout on Senior Day.
UCLA forward David Estrada scored two goals and added an assist, and Michael Stephens tied the Bruins’ school record with four assists in the lopsided win that capped off another first-place finish for UCLA, which has won five of the last seven Pac-10 titles.
“I don’t know what happened out there today. I can’t really say,” senior defender Danny Ortiz said immediately after the game. “We didn’t come out ready. Maybe we thought it was going to be easy. It’s one of the worst losses I’ve ever had.”
“We looked lethargic out there,” said goalkeeper Jorge Rosales, who was bombarded by 16 Bruin shots. “I don’t even have the words, especially as a goalkeeper, to get scored on like that.”
Ortiz and Rosales join fellow seniors Dennis Sanchez, Nick Collins and Myles Davis in ending their collective careers on a down note to a hated rival.
The match was highly anticipated, as the Aztecs came into the contest riding a three-game winning streak, which included a 1-0 victory over then-No. 7 California. SDSU gave up just one goal during that stretch, but hardly looked like the same defensive team this weekend, allowing six goals to a team that hadn’t scored more than three all season.
“I’m very pleased with how strong we finished the regular season,” UCLA head coach Jorge Salcedo said to www.uclabruins.com. “We possessed the ball really well, defended well and scored goals, and we look forward to continuing that in the postseason.”
The Bruins will almost certainly receive a first-round bye within the field of 48 teams that are selected for the NCAA Tournament. The Aztecs have now missed the tournament two straight seasons following two consecutive selections in 2005-2006.
Despite the six goals put in by UCLA, Kirshner was quick to dismiss any thought of his opponent running up the score in the contest.
“There’s no running up the score in Division I soccer,” Kirshner said. “They’re just a better team. We would have done the same thing to them.”
The SDSU coaching staff has already set its sights on 2009 following the loss.
“We have a great recruiting class coming in. It will most likely rank somewhere in the top-10,” Kirshner said. “The leadership of the seniors will be missed, but now it’s a matter of us turning our sights to next season.”
MEN'S SOCCER: Season ends harshly
Published: Sunday, November 16, 2008
Updated: Monday, November 17, 2008
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